Slow Cooker Mexican Meatballs And A Rainy Day At Home

May 1, 2017

Last Tuesday started with a dead truck battery and ended with a traffic ticket from a very kind police officer. No really, he was so kind.

After one look in the back of my land-cruiser packed with three preschoolers he went from business as usual to sweet and comforting: “Just call DMV and renew your registration and it’s like you never even got a ticket….”

“Call DMV??” I don’t know what planet he’s from, but it’s not earth. Even so, I was thanking him as I drove away.

Kindness! It makes the world such a better place.

After we were merrily on our way I asked my audience in the back; “Can you believe I got a ticket??” To which Brielle’s little friend replied, “A ticket?? To what?”

I mean, adorable.

Days like that remind me how little my happiness and joy depends on my actual circumstances, and how much it depends on my willingness to just be content.

(Telling stories and having our snack in the car before resigning ourselves to an unplanned morning at home.) 

Some days motherhood is a whirlwind of places to go and to-do lists and some days it’s rain coming down and hours of nothing but fights and make-ups and Netflix and crafts and meals and clean-ups and books and games and snacks and make-believes and time-outs, and doing it all agains…

And that leads me to the Mexican Meatballs… They were simmering quietly in the background, not needing or requiring me.. just getting “done” on their own. Ahhh.

I used to think slow cookers were for chili and soup in cold weather. Now, as a mom, I know they are for survival. There’s nothing better than turning a pot on and having dinner done eight hours later.

I found this recipe years ago and I’m excited to share it with you and have it eternally on my meal-planning radar.

Slow Cooker Mexican Meatballs:

Ingredients:
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
6 garlic cloves (I use minced in a jar, so a couple teaspoons full.)
Shallots, 2 bulbs diced
Ground pork 1 1/2 lbs
Garlic powder 2 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp for meatballs and 1 tsp for sauce
Chipotle pepper in Adobo sauce 1, chopped
Chili Powder 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Crushed tomatoes (Can, 14 oz)
Crushed Tomatoes (Can 28 0z)
Avocado, 1 cubed
Lime, sliced into wedges

I always chop my veggies before I deal with the meat, because of the obvious grossness factor.

So I chopped the cilantro (Ahhhh the smell!)

It’s so fresh and amazing.

Then I diced the Shallots:

I added the Cilantro to the pork (The shallots go into the sauce.)

Then I added the spices:

Then I took off my rings and mushed it all together.

Next I made the sauce which is so easy:

I combined the cans of tomatoes in the crockpot with the second half (1 tsp) of cumin and the adobo pepper as well as the shallots and minced garlic.
Stir stir stir.

Then I rolled the meat into balls and dropped them right into the sauce.

Once they were all in there I covered them up with the spoon, being careful not to damage them.
Then I covered the slow cooker and turned it on low for 8 hours (You can also do high for 6 hours.)

As an additional step, (but not necessary for a delicious meal) you can remove the meatballs from the slow cooker when they are done and puree the sauce with an immersion blender before mixing the two together again.

Don’t forget salt and pepper!

They are tender and delicious and way too easy not to add to my monthly meal rotation.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

XOXO

 

 

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